1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display (LCD), and more particularly, to a repair structure for an LCD and a method of repairing the same. Although the present invention is suitable for a wide scope of applications, it is particularly suitable for repairing a defect due to a short circuit between the lines of the LCD.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A cathode ray tube (CRT) is a display device used as a monitor for information terminals and measuring instruments such as a TV. However, the CRT has not been widely applied in modern electronics due to its weight and size.
To substitute for such a CRT, an LCD having a small size and lightweight has been actively developed. Recently, the LCD has been developed for a flat panel display device. Thus, a demand of the LCD device is consistently increasing.
An amorphous silicon thin film transistor (TFT) is used as a switching element in a TFT-LCD that can be fabricated with a low cost and a high performance. Currently, the LCD is able to display a video graphic array (VGA) having a maximum high resolution of 640×480 pixels as well as an SVGA having a high resolution of 800×600 pixels and an XVGA having a high resolution of 1024×768 pixels.
Development and application of the TFT-LCD industries have been accelerated in accordance with an increase in dimension and resolution. To increase productivity and ensure a low cost, many efforts have been made in view of simplifying the process steps and improving yield.
A related art method for repairing an LCD device will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of scan lines 1 are arranged on an insulating substrate at constant intervals and a plurality of data lines 2 are arranged to cross the respective scan lines 1, so that pixel regions are defined in a matrix arrangement. A thin film transistor (TFT) (not shown) and a pixel electrode (not shown) are arranged in each pixel region to constitute a TFT-LCD array 5.
The TFT-LCD array 5 surrounded by repair lines 3 and 4 has a closed circuit or two open points. As shown in FIG. 1, if the repair lines 3 and 4 having two open points are formed, they are separated from each other at a constant interval in the opposing portion.
For example, if a line opening 6 occurs in the data lines 2, the repair line 3 is electrically connected with one side of the opened data line 2 at one side of the TFT-LCD array 5. The repair line 3 is also electrically connected with the other side of the opened data line 2 at the other side of the TFT-LCD array 5. Thus, a signal to be applied to the opened data line is transmitted thereto through the repair line 3, thereby repairing the line opening 6 of the data line 2.
However, the related art repair structure for an LCD device and a method for repairing the same have the following problems.
If the repair lines are formed along the periphery of the TFT-LCD array, a resistance of the repair lines is significant. Moreover, in light of increase of the panel size, there is a limitation in forming the repair lines along the periphery of the TFT-LCD array.
In addition, if a defect occurs in respective lines such as scan lines or data lines, the respective lines with the defect can be repaired. However, if a defect occurs due to a short circuit between the scan line and the data line, the lines with the defect cannot be repaired. As a result, it is difficult to improve yield in fabricating an LCD.